(The) Promise
by AkdC
Summary: /Catching Fire/AE (Alternate Ending)/ Katniss continues with her own agenda of saving Peeta, even if it costs her life. Spoilers for Catching Fire.


(The) Promise, a Hunger Games fan fiction  
by _The Fire Stirring Ruby_

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_Katniss's POV_

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_Boom!_

Someone has died. It could be anybody, really. But whoever died, it will trigger a horrific free-for-all fight right now. This is what the Capitol audience wants: a bloody fight to death between the tributes, and in this case, victors. I sprint through the forest, knowing that people will impulsively kill at this moment, before thinking of their motives.

Something catches my foot. I instinctively think it's one of Finnick's nets, but when I look it in the moonlight, it is Beetee's wire. I loosen myself from it, throw it in front of me and continue going uphill.

Fortunately, I am on the right track now and haven't been bewildered by my head injury. On the other hand, with the sight of the wire, I remember of the incoming lightning storm. I could hear the insects, but are they fading away?

The lightning tree comes into my view and is adorned with gold. I try moving stealthily, trying to look for signs of the others. There's no one. "Peeta?" I whisper. "Peeta?"

A moan replies me and I turn around to see a figure lying above. "Beetee!" I rush to his side. He's unconscious, and might have moaned involuntarily. He is safe, save for his gash on the elbow. I grab a moss while trying to rouse him. "Beetee! Beetee, what's going on? Who cut you? Beetee!" I shake him in a way you wouldn't do to an injured person. He raises his hand as if to ward me off.

That's when I notice that he's holding a knife. Peeta's knife, I guess. It's loosely wrapped with the wire he's been fiddling about.

I don't know what Beetee was trying to accomplish with this thing. I raise the knife and notice it is connected to the tree. It takes more than a moment for me to remember a shorter wire Beetee wound up around a branch. I thought it was significant for later use, but it cannot be since we're in good twenty-five yards away from the beach.

I look hard uphill and discern that we're close to the force field. There's the square, high to my right. The chink in the armor, as Beetee would say. What's with the knife? Was Beetee trying to drive the knife in it when his other plan fails? Trying to fry us all? This force field's reflecting back the jungle, unlike the other one in the Training Center.

My ears were not ringing at all. It was the insects. I know because they're dying out quickly. Beetee can't be roused, and I can't save him. He's incapable of explaining what's with the knife and the wire and the tree. I might go out any time and I need to run aw—

"Katniss!" I hear Peeta's voice coming from a far distance. But, what's he doing? He must have figured out that everyone is hunting us by now.

"Katniss!" Peeta howls. I can't do much right now, let alone protect him. So, I do the one thing I know I can do to draw the attackers away from him and go towards me instead.

"Peeta! Peeta!" I shout back. "I'm here! Peeta!" Surely, they will go towards me and Peeta won't get killed. Anyway, he won't make it in time. Not with that leg of his.

"I'm here! I'm here! Peeta!" I scream, making sure our hunters hear it clearly. I hear rustling of leaves down the slope. They have finally come, two of them actually. They crash through the jungle, oblivious that I am above them. I sink down to Beetee's side on my heels, lift my bow to position.

Enobaria and Finnick reach the lightning tree. I'm camouflaged for good by the ointment, and I am sure that they don't see me. I aim the arrow to Enobaria's neck. If I manage to kill her, Finnick will run for cover before the lightning storm strikes loose. And it will be any second now, because the insect clicking's start to faint out.

_Boom!_

"Katniss!" Peeta bellows, but I don't answer him. Beetee and I will die soon. Enobaria and Finnick will die too. And Peeta is alive. Two cannons fired just now. It could be Johanna, Brutus or Chaff. Just one of them still alive. And Peeta will just have to kill one more tribute. I will fulfill my promise of protecting Peeta, no matter what the cost is.

The bowstring is held back stiffly by my arm, waiting for the tiniest opening possible. Enobaria closes in to Finnick, and I release the arrow. It drives through Enobaria's neck. She's stopped before she could even hit Finnick and drops her weapon. She pulls off the arrow in her neck. Stream of blood start to flow from her neck wound and she immediately falls to the ground. Funny, this is almost the same from the last year's Games, where I pulled that arrow to kill Marvel, the Career from District One.

Another cannon booms in the air.

There's no helping Enobaria anymore. She's dead for good. Finnick stands there, unable to comprehend what had happened to Enobaria. Then, he sees the arrow that killed her off. A spark of recognition blossoms in his face. "Katniss!" he shouts to me, but I don't answer. He can barely see me, but he slowly comes uphill.

First signs of the lightning storm show up, and I hide in the bushes nearby, gripping my weapons tightly. Through the leaves, I see Finnick trying to find a shelter for himself. I take in deep breaths, trying to calm myself. _It's just a little bit more Katniss. Kill Finnick, and make Peeta win this Quell._ There's only Peeta, Finnick, me and whoever remains of Chaff, Brutus or Johanna.

_Wait a minute… Someone's missing… But who? _

That's when I remember about Beetee. I try searching him in the jungle, but the first crack of the lightning storm begins and it hits the lightning tree. Electric current surges through Beetee's wire and ends up to Peeta's knife, which is nearby him. The knife uncontrollably shakes and touches Beetee in the smallest noticeable difference possible. His body gives a terrifying shake, as he takes in the full surge of the lightning. I just peer away from the scene and close my eyes.

I hear the cannon boom again. There's no helping Beetee in recovering.

_This is where we all die._ The Gamemaker horrors won't end until someone will be crowned victor. And it has to be Peeta. It _must_ be Peeta.

After what it seemed to be ages, the lightning storm starts to fade out and I hear the blood rain start to pour out. I stand out of my bush, try to see the skirmishes. There's Beetee, sprawled around in the ground, a few yards away from me. His body is charred, sickening me to the core. His eyes are still open, and I do the one sign of respect I can do. I close them with my hand, and quietly say my apologies, for leaving him out in the open.

I move away from the ghastly cadaver, who was Beetee, for the Gamemakers to get his body. As I use the hunter's tread, I see Finnick, all gleaming in sweat. He's yards away from me, and sprints to me. "Katniss, are you all right?" I notice that he still has the trident.

With all my might, without making my blood flow even harder, I give him my warning. "Stay back, Finnick!" I put on an arrow to my bow and aim it in his eye, for the kill. He stops, raising his trident in defense. "What's going on Katniss? What happened to Beetee?"

"I… He's dead, Finnick," I say. "But he did not die by my hands." He looks me in the eye, trying to confirm his suspicions. He's speechless. His mouth opened in a gasp. He looks like freaked out. "Why did you let that happen, Katniss? We're still allies and—"

"Traitor," I barely whispered, but I think he heard it. Yes, he's a traitor. "What did you say, Katniss?" Finnick answers me, his face distorted quizzically.

"Traitor," I repeat myself, and this time, it's louder because Finnick's eyes open wide.

"What? We were never traitors, Katniss," Finnick says, his trident poised. "We're helping you two, Katniss. Right from the very beginning of the Quell! Didn't you see it?"

"Liar!" I retort. "Why are you keeping this façade of yours? Are you still not yet done with you and Johanna Mason's plan?"

"What, a façade? Plans?! We never planned on killing you Katniss. We never had the intention to do so," Finnick replies, his voice steady. It's my turn to look at him quizzically. _No, he's just lying Katniss. They planned on killing you and Peeta so they could win the crown for themselves._

"Not true!" I respond. Why did Haymitch gave this man his seal of approval? They were trying to kill me and Peeta here! Argh, I shouldn't have trusted Haymitch. Peeta was right. He made some kind of a double deal. His motives are unclear, and whether he's been keeping his promise to me or not, this was definitely not part of the plan. The arrow still remains in my hand, waiting to be released. My fingers are too tense, and I might not do it right.

I see Finnick murmuring something under his breath. I could barely make it out, but I was sure to hear Beetee's name, "failure" and "plan." Did they lure Beetee into some kind of a deal? No, Beetee was a wise person. But who could know?

"Stand _down_, Finnick," I say cautiously. He blinks uncomprehendingly, as if to say _what?_

"Katniss, I—"

"I said, stand down Finnick!" I shout. He stands there, motionless. He couldn't hardly believe what he sees right now. He stays firm in his position, keeping up with mine. "Put down your trident, _now_," I mutter.

"Katniss, you don't understand. We were trying to—"

"Put it down," I cut Finnick before he finishes his sentence.

"No sense trying to make it well understood, huh, Katniss? I guess you won't listen to any of my words," Finnick says, even smiling. There's something in that smile that I couldn't put my finger on.

He slowly puts down his trident, his face looking still at mine. For a small while, I see he's following me. As the trident was just about few inches on the ground, Finnick throws the trident towards me. I try dodging it, but it still hits me to my left side, making a new gash. I release my arrow without a second's hesitation. It makes home into Finnick's eye, and his cannon sounds off. The gash on my left side bleeds like crazy, and if this continues, I will die because of lack of blood. Which is good because I want Peeta to kill someone else than me.

I hear the scuffling of leaves and a lean figure bursts out of the bushes. It quickly sits beside Finnick Odair's lifeless body. I hear a hiss from the figure. I'd recognize that voice anywhere.

Johanna Mason. And she'd come here for my blood. Her eyes find the arrow that ended Finnick's life. She looks uphill, and makes me out from the darkness of the early morning. "You… brainless! Stupid girl!" Her rage emanates throughout her being, and she lifts her axe, aiming for me. I quickly draw a new arrow and load it to my bow. Johanna throws her axe to me as my arrow is released.

My arrow manages to puncture her right hand. Now I've severed the only way for her to defend herself. It will be very painful to try and throw an axe. Her axe lands squarely on my right shoulder. I fall down to the ground, my blood starting to create a small puddle. My eyes start to give out, and my vision starts to get blurry.

I hear another scuffling of leaves, and a new figure comes out.

"Katniss!"

I could hear Johanna's cries of pain and protest. "You don't understand any of this! She killed my only ally left here and she deserves to die!" I could hear her acute cries of pain. I could easily imagine Johanna fighting Peeta off, but I could safely guess that Peeta will overpower her. A cannon goes off.

So Peeta did it. He managed to kill Johanna Mason. "Katniss!" he shouts, coming beside me quickly. He puts his face into mine, and even though my vision's dim, I could see his tears falling. Some fall down to my cheek. "Katniss! Please, stay with me! You… I—I promised to keep you alive in this year's Games!"

I tentatively try to lift my good arm to his cheek. "Peeta," I croak out. Why am I doing this? Wasn't he just some boy to whom I had just been paired with for sponsors? Why do I feel like… crying? Every single memory of him surges back to my mind. Him when he was just a five-year old boy, with his cute blond curls. The boy with the bread, who took his mother's beating to give me some bread. Peeta, District Twelve's boy tribute in the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games. His "death" in this Quarter Quell. My concern to his loss of heartbeat.

Then… everything makes sense. _I really do love Peeta._ "Peeta," I say weakly. He doesn't stop saying innumerable things, like how much I am important to his life, I mustn't pass away and many others. I call his name again. This time, he stops, and he hears me.

"What is it, Katniss?" he asks me politely, like asking a small young girl.

My voice fails me this moment. I try talking again, but my voice doesn't seem to come out. I don't hear anything from Peeta. The movement of lips tells me something, but I can't make it out.

_"Always." _So that's what he had said to me that night. He'll always be there by my side. That night when we both had nightmares of the previous Games.

His hand touches my cheeks, and I try to grasp it firmly with all my remaining energy, but the wound on my left forearm starts staunching my clothes and my face. My remaining hold to the world starts to fade out: my sense of touch, smell, hearing, taste and sight. Everything starts to dim out. Peeta tries to shake me awake, but as much as I wanted to keep my eyes open and tell him I'm okay, I can't.

There's only one more thing to say. I force my voice to mutter it out so everyone could hear it. I open my mouth to say it, but no voice comes out. _Why? Why can't I tell Peeta?_ Everything seems to be so clear now. What seems to be so vague has come to my senses.

Peeta cries and calls my name. My tears start to form, when my eyes suddenly close shut. It can't be. I hadn't told Peeta yet. _Peeta, if you could only hear me, I wanted to say that I love you!_

But it's too late. I'm already dead. Peeta won't be able to hear my love for him. I wasn't able to reciprocate his feelings when I still had my last few breaths.

Now, I regret to have died. Peeta won't know how much I yearned for his warmth, his smile… every single thing about him. All I can do now is to sit back and wait for him to come back to my side. And we'll stay forever by each other's side, always.

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THE END

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_Good day, everyone!_

_This is my first time writing a fan fiction for Hunger Games. So, this is just a _what if _situation to _Catching Fire_: What if Katniss goes along with her plan of saving Peeta?_

_I was supposed to submit this a long time ago, but I was too lazy to start it, let alone submit it. But here it is. Voila!_

_I hope I could get some positive reviews from you, readers. Oh, so much for Author's Notes._

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.


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